Virus

"The government is rapidly leaning into the lessons it learned from the SARS outbreak of 2002-2004, and which proved highly effective during the COVID-19 pandemic."

Dr. Michael Gates, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in 2025, raises with his supervisor the idea of function research on influenza viruses but to no avail. He thinks the threat these now pose will be worse than COVID-19. Across town, FBI and Secret Service agents discuss social credit scores and conspiracy theories. Gates calls the Chinese ambassador who funds the research.

Flashing forward to the Secret Bioresearch Lab at a naval base in China, Dr. Johnson, a top American researcher sent to work with the lab, observes the Chinese steal a dangerous sample and is arrested during a call. Desperately realizing what the Chinese stole "could make COVID-19 look like a minor annoyance," Gates informs the president of what he suspects from his truncated call with Johnson. Agents appear at Gates' door,and he discovers he is being investigated for subversive activities by Homeland Security. An agent is run over and killed as he pursues the matter. A second agent narrowly avoids kidnapping by giving a black ops group the slip. She is led to a clandestine group for answers, and the plot thickens.

Stock deftly weaves in references to popular culture, such as the movie The Manchurian Candidate, 1984, and Vonnegut's Welcome to the Monkey House. All have been banned, but each obliquely refers to present conditions. The book could be macabre, but humor prevails. For example, the underground resistance hub to which the escaped agent seeking answers retreats is called The Dark Side. "On the Dark Side" plays as she walks in, and she is greeted with "Welcome to the Dark Side" after an elaborate special coded knock. Fans of thrillers dealing with global threats that could prove all too real may wish to read this book.

- The US Review of Books

Set in a time that has just recovered from the pandemic of COVID-19 but now the world is facing a possibly worse threat in the form of a new virus that could be worse than COVID. A select few dig further into the potential outbreak which could be the result of a deeper threat. This leads to a couple of scientists disappearing, and finding them could give answers which will help the world understand the truth behind the virus. FBI agent Jennifer Barnes turns to surprising allies such as a British secret agent, and hackers in a quest to evade being arrested, to venture into an underground secret Naval base, and to uncover the whereabouts of the scientists.

The setting takes place in the near future of 2025 and in a time post-COVID-19, with the world still adjusting to what normalcy means after recovering from the global pandemic. Just as people are settling into this post-abnormal existence, they're facing the reality of another pandemic which could bring forth a virus that could be even worse than what was previously experienced. This potential reality drives the tension of the story as the characters are attempting to avoid a worse-repeat of the life the world just recently managed to recover from. The suspense is built off this tension as a terrible fate and a possible collapse which could send the world back into a pandemic hangs over the characters. The constant presence of a new virus lingers and sets the tone of the story as it becomes a race against time to prevent another pandemic.

The story revolves around a variety of characters such as ambassadors, scientists, and agents, who are drawn into the middle of preventing the outbreak of a virus. The book focuses primarily on FBI agent Jennifer Barnes who sets out on a journey to rescue two scientists and search for answers about the potential outbreak. The various characters provide different perspectives on an outbreak weaving in Jennifer investigating, scientists studying viruses, and ambassadors of the United Nations gathering to discuss how to prevent the crisis. Experiencing a second pandemic so soon is a heavy feeling which lingers throughout the story. Though set in the near future, the fear that hangs over the characters as they face a repeat in their reality is a world that we are all familiar with. Author J.E. Stock captures this reality with an honest tone which weaves in the feelings of fear, stress, and tension with a shift specifically to those behind the scenes. The setting interlaces between alternating locations which include an underground top-secret Naval base in China, the South China Sea, Taiwan, and Washington, D.C.

Virus by author J.E. Stock is a thriller that's rooted in a real-life fear which culminates in a suspenseful build-up as Jennifer investigates and searches for the missing scientists. The story focuses on real situations which reflect what the world has explored through the genre of science fiction. J.E. Stock captures the genuine concerns surrounding an outbreak, the motivations behind global leaders trying to prevent a repeat, the threat against the geopolitical balance of Southeast Asia, and the drive of scientists. The story is a poignancy that's derived from significant moments from the loss of one of the scientists to the biological warfare on Taiwan that results in an outbreak and an overwhelmed health care system.

Virus is a science fiction foray that poignantly explores the fear and reality of a pandemic through a grounded thriller that chronicles the suspenseful journey of an FBI agent to rescue medical scientists and prevent an outbreak.

- Pacific Book Review